Sightseeing in Barcelona

Sightseeing in Barcelona is done from above, from the water and on the road out. A funicular has climbed Tibidabo since 1901, and a cable car crosses the harbour from Barceloneta to Montjuïc. The Carretera de les Aigües, a flat dirt track along the flank of Collserola, keeps the whole city below it. Along the coast, Tossa de Mar has its Vila Vella, walled between the 12th and 14th centuries and still ringed by seven round towers. Inland, Cardona's salt mountain can be toured from inside a gallery, and Sant Jeroni, the highest point of Montserrat, stands at 1,236 metres.

Barcelona sightseeing tours start with the city. The four-hour tours collect guests at a hotel or the cruise port, drive up Montjuïc, walk El Born and end at the Sagrada Família, with entry optional; the eight-hour ones add Montserrat, and luggage can stay in the van. The basilica alone is a 75-minute guided visit, and a two-hour walk through the Gothic Quarter and Passeig de Gràcia ends with fast-track entry. Bikes, a catamaran, a walking-and-sailing tour and a helicopter show the same sights from other angles. Beyond the city come Montserrat in five and a half to nine hours, Cardona with Montserrat in nine, Besalú, Rupit and Vic in eleven, and a Costa Brava day by coach and boat from Lloret de Mar to Tossa.

Practical. Sagrada Família tickets are nominative and checked against photo ID, so tours ask for every name at booking. The sea is about 13C in January and 26C in August, and October is the wettest month, with about 82 mm. The harbour cable car shuts in windy weather, and Montserrat's rack railway and cable car can stop in strong wind or heavy rain. The Lloret and Tossa boat day runs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays from May to September, the walking-and-sailing tour only at weekends from December to April.